U.S. Infrastructure Was Under Control of Foreign Nations

Yesterday Internet and news outlets were filled with headlines that sound like they came straight out of a Die Hard movie but this time - it's not just in Hollywood. Apparently, current and previous U.S. security experts claim that the U.S. border firewalls have been compromised leaving the power grid, water utilities and the financial industry vulnerable.

While the vulnerabilities of the system has been known for years, nothing was done until last year when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved new security requirements that utilities must implement in 2009. However, this process is very slow going due to red tape and money needing to fund such improvements.

"We can have a bulletproof system and absolutely no one could afford the electricity," says Ed Legge of Edison Electric Institute, the industry's trade group. Still, he says, it's in utilities' best interest to have secure systems, and standards "are definitely going to be strengthened."

U.S. Security officials say other countries are to blame for the most recent attacks which planted trojans in the infrastructure, which were sitting and waiting for commands. These 'booby traps' as some refer to them as, can be triggered at any time - more specifically later down the road if a nation were to go at war with the U.S. They could then trigger the booby traps to shutdown power, water, and disrupt the financial industry. Many reporters say that Russia and China are the main culprits in these attacks.

While the war on the battle has been around forever - the war in the cyber world is just beginning.